Homemade Chicken Stock Recipe

Homemade Chicken Stock Recipe

Homemade chicken stock is super simple and basically free to make. Since we eat a lot of chicken at our house, I always have leftover chicken bones. I have everyone save their chicken bones during dinner. Then I just throw the bones in a pan and fill it up with water. Sometimes I throw in an onion, a carrot or some celery. Then I let it simmer overnight on low and in the morning I have yummy chicken stock. Really, that’s it!

I always seem to have more chicken stock than I can use so I put the extra stock in the freezer in 2 cup portions and then save it for later. If you don’t have time to cook the chicken stock after dinner you can just throw the bones in the freezer and make it later.

When I was using up the food from the freezer for our move I found some chicken stock that I had frozen so I have them on the stove now cooking away. I will use the broth to flavor my rice for dinner. It’s so simple that even a cook like me can do it! -Tawra

Step 1- Save chicken bones. This is the leftover bones from two large chicken breasts we ate for dinner.

Step 2- Add flavoring. I used onions but you can add, garlic, carrots, celery or anything else you would like.

Step 3- Simmer on the stove at least 4 hours. I simmer mine overnight on low.

Step 4- Enjoy your chicken stock. My two chicken breast bones make about 2 1/2 cups of concentrated stock. I usually dilute mine down with half water and and half stock.

Comments

Do you put in just enough water to cover? I tried to make stock once, and it was SO watered down; I also put in carrots to help season. The end result was a water-y very carrot-y ickiness that I had to throw away.

For Claire: I also have made stock that wasn’t as flavorful as I wanted. Just add a boullion cube (they come in low salt varieties of you need them, or in packets of powder).

I don’t generally like to name a product, so Tawra and Jill if you need to delte this comment, I understand and apologize in advance.

I use something called “Better than Boullion”. it’s a soup base paste that comes in a jar. It’s a little pricey here in New Jersey, but a $5.00 jar makes 32 cups of broth. It’s carried in most grocery stores.

It comes in beef, chicken, mushroom, chili, lobster and I think vegetable varieties. I use it alot when I want to make gravy. It’s quite flavorful, and handy to have when you’re in a bind.

Do you mean that after everyone eats their chicken, you use those bones that were on their plates and eaten off of? Isn’t that gross? Or, do you take all the meat off, save the bones, and then serve the meat?

L
Just a question? Do you blow on your babies food to cool it? do they come up and want a drink of your glass of milk or soda. Do you take a nibble of their spoon full of veggies to convince them how yummy it is? Those certainly transfer a lot more germs than a chicken bone that has been boiled for hours. I don’t happen to use nibbled on chicken for stock as I have a lot of pets waiting breathlessly for any leftovers but if not for that I probably would and not see a thing wrong with it.

Sometimes we need to rethink our definations of “gross”. If you had ever been to a chicken slaughter house you would really know what “gross” is! Yet we happily eat out fried chicken by the ton. And we that tout the “green movement” happily pour cow poop on our vegetable plants, talk glowingly of our organic (plant enough so you can have enough left that are not too wormey to use), extole the virtues of composting (rotted vegetable matter and manure), and dig our hands lovingly into “worm castings”, sounds a lot nicer than worm poop doesn’t it? Yet we think there is something unhealthy about putting a 1/2 drank sippy cup of milk back in the fridge to use a couple of hours later or reusing the meat off a chicken breast Jr has taken one bite out of. Fortunately thoroughly cooking food kills about any “bug” you can name. Otherwise we would all have died from food poisoning years ago.

donna b .. i use that too .. esp the organic vegetable base for hubby ..
and last nite i made a really good broth (my son even complimented me on how good it was) …
2 boxes of chicken broth (college inn brand) .. 3/4 box of water from each box … a small bag of carrots (the little peg sizes already peeled) and a few of those frozen chicken breasts from walmart (for $6.87/bag) .. cooked on high for 6 hrs ..
when done, strained out the chicken and carrots and all i had left was broth.. took a tblspn of jiffy biscuit miz, with some water in a cup .. mixed thoroughly to make sure lumps were gone .. added to the broth .. and cooked on high another 30-45 mins .. stirring every so often .. and well it wasnt thick but a bit thicker than not adding the biscuit mix … and then served over the chicken, carrots and i did make some of those jiffy biscuits .. and yummo .. and also served a small cup of broth to drink (if anyone wanted some) .. it was good ..
and today .. we have broth for lunch/dinner …

The way I do this is somewhat similar, although I got tired of buying veggies to put in my stock. Here’s what I do now: Keep a “chicken stock bag” in the freezer. When we have chicken bones, I throw them in the bag. When I chop an onion, I take the top part that I would have simply thrown away and throw it in the bag instead (I don’t use the roots, of course). I’ve used the ends of bell peppers (sans stems), an extra carrot, corn cobs, zucchini ends, etc. Once my bag is full (last time it took me a month, sometimes it just takes a week or two), I just make the chicken stock (adding salt, garlic) and freeze–like you–in 2 cup portions! I figured it up last time: my main cost was just freezer bags for storing (5 cents ea since I bought them on sale). Much, much cheaper than buying it in the store.

Don’t know if you’re a chili lover, but they also carry a base to make chili with, VERY flavorful (NOT just hot/spicy). Mushroom base we love also! We really like it alot. Homemade stock is so good for you though, especially so you can control the salt (for those of us with a salt fetish LOL). Vegetable is good for a split pea soup also. I just love homemade soup in the fall/winter!

The soup paste also makes a super gravy! Make 2 cups broth as directed on the jar, put 1 1/2 cup in a saucepan. Take remaining 1/2 cup and mix about 3 tablespoons of flour til there are no lumps (patience is a virtue!). Heat the broth to a boil and stir in your flour/broth paste. It thickens beautifuly!

What do you do with the chicken stock once you have it? I have some going in my crockpot right now but I am not really sure what to do with it in the morning? I’d like to make some chicken noodle soup but don’t know if I start with broth or stock…what is the difference anyway?

Jana most people use the terms interchangeably. Technically broth usually has a little more salt and sometimes is seasoned more which means broth is highly seasoned stock and it is sometimes a little richer because of this.

Like I said even a lot of chefs use the term interchangeably. All you need to do is remove all the bones from the liquid (or broth) and season to taste. I like to use onion and garlic pwd., salt and pepper. Often I add a bouillon cube or two depending how much I have – usually 1 cube for every 4 cups broth. This is to taste.

I then just bring it to a boil add a handful of spaghetti or any noodles you want and then turn it down to a simmer until the noodles are cooked. You could also add rice instead or any veggies you want. This is a great way to use up those leftover veggies. You can also mix up a batch of dumplings and drop those in. We have all the recipes for broth, chicken soup, dumplings and many more things in Dining on a Dime if you have a copy you can check in there for more.

It has been 24 hours and my crockpot of stock/broth still looks very thin. Also, the turkey leg bones haven’t dissolved at all. I wonder if I messed up with not starting with water. I cooked a chicken in the crockpot, pulled out the chicken and 8 cups of the broth for other meals. I then threw all the bones back in along with the bag I had been saving of bones in freezer (it also had, edammame shells, carrot ends and turkey bones in it). Should I have drained the broth and started fresh with water or is what I have good…it looks a bit greasy. Not sure whether to start over or throw noodles in it:)

I made the Basic Chicken Soup recipe from the cookbook yesterday and it’s so good! Will have some wonderful soup all this week. I used pasta in some bowls of soup and rice in others. So nourishing. Made the house smell good too.

When I make stock or broth, I try to do it at least a day ahead of when I will need it. I strain the broth through a sieve, and then cover and refrigerate the broth, once it is cool. The next day, I am able to skim off any congealed fat that has risen to the surface. Then, just reheat and use for whatever you like, or freeze it for another day, without reheating. Also, extra stock can be canned in appropriately sized jars for future use. Just use a pressure canner (or pressure pan for smaller jars) and can as you would for most meats.

A really good way to make stock, with great flavor, is to cook the bones in a pressure cooker. Add water to cover and cook at 15# for 1 1/2 hours. Take out the bones, refrigerate, and in the morning, remove the grease, that will settle in top, with a spoon. It will be jelled. Nice thick stock.

The difference between broth and stock is how it is made. Stock is made from bones, broth from the meat. I was always cautioned about adding salt to my stock or broth when I make it. As the liquid cooks down the salt will concentrate. When you use the stock in a recipe that’s when the seasoning should go in. Also, one of the reasons stock won’t have a rich taste is because it isn’t reduce enough. If you use a crock pot, the lid stays on and you end up with just as much liquid as when you started.
I save bones and trimmings – gizzard, neck, etc in the freezer until I have at least a large zipper bag full, preferably 2 or 3. I have a huge stock pot and everything goes in – still frozen – along with carrot, celery, onion and garlic. Cover all with cold water. It simmers on the stove, with the lid ajar, all day – at least 14 hours. I put it through a strainer and then chill it in the fridge overnight. The next day I skim the fat, put it on the stove just long enough to liquify and then divide it up in freezer bags. I usually only get about a quart of stock but it is strong and very flavorful. You can thin it out for soup but just a little will go a long way to flavor other recipes.